In the wake of Hurricane Florence, many roads and highways around Eastern North Carolina remain flooded and impassible. Those who evacuated before Hurricane Florence may have trouble returning home.
For real-time traffic information of interstates, highways and roads, go to NCDOT's Travel Information Management System.
Sections of I-40 and I-95 have closed, and major roads in southeastern North Carolina have been shut down due to flooding and debris. Sections of Highway 70 in Lenior and Wayne Counties and Highway 17 in Jones and Onslow County are closed. Spokesperson for NCDOT Steve Abbott says they’re sending crews to clear debris and place barricades where roads are unsafe.
“We had instances in several places in Hurricane Matthew when you can be standing at the barricade looking at the road and you see where there is the asphalt, looks just normal to me, and there’s nothing underneath the road. It had been washed away, all the dirt. And if you had driven any vehicle across the road it would have collapsed and it would have gone down there.”
Some areas remain inaccessible to NCDOT crews because of flooding and damage. Abbott warns conditions will likely worsen as river levels rise and flood roadways.
“Communities along the Cape Fear River, the Tar River and all those rivers, if they remember the flooding from way back in Floyd or the flooding from Matthew, so we have to keep an eye on things. This is not going to resolve itself in the next couple of days.
Abbott urges people to keep the roads clear but not driving unless it’s necessary.
